Release date - 1st September 2017
Book length - 369 pages Publisher - Mills & Boon Historical Book Depository - www.bookdepository.com Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk Amazon US - www.amazon.com *I want to thank Julia Justiss for providing me with an ebook of this novel for review. ABOUT THE BOOK Pursuing a role in Parliament, Christopher Lattimar needs a virtuous marriage to make society overlook his roguish past. When beautiful and disarming Ellie Parmenter offers to reform and refine him, he's too tempted to say no. Once a courtesan, Ellie knows a thing or two about polishing a diamond in the rough. She has no designs on Christopher—or any man in search of a wife—but their best-laid plans begin to tumble once lessons in respectability turn to seduction… MY REVIEW SECRET LESSONS WITH THE RAKE by Julia Justiss is the fourth and final instalment of the Hadley's Hellions series and it completely blew me away. Christopher Lattimar is a rake and he knows it. Brought up by his beloved mother who herself has taunted the rules of the ton, Christopher has never felt the need to shackle himself in marriage to a whimpering young miss. But now that his closest friends have found love in matrimony, he cannot help but feel a little lonely, and the fact that a properly bred wife would aid his career in politics convinces Christopher that a virtuous virgin is exactly what he needs to find in a life partner. If only his heart, and blood, didn't surge at the sight and sound of the caring courtesan, Ellie ... Ellie's life changed drastically when she was carted off to become a mistress, but now that she is finally free, Ellie vows never to be beholden to a man again. Strong and determined, Ellie has started a school to help young girls find a different life from the one that was thrust upon her, and with the help of some wealthy friends in society, she is finally starting to feel the caring effects of friendship again. If only she could have the one thing that she longs for - marriage to the man that holds her heart ... SECRET LESSONS WITH THE RAKE by Julia Justiss is an engaging and evocative read that highlights the horrific hypocrisy that was afforded to women at that time in history, yet still weaves a beautiful story of female strength and solidarity in the face of adversity. The characters are dynamic and different, and I loved the pace and feel to this story which really got under my skin. Christopher and Ellie's journey of friendship and yearning is expertly handled and I desperately wanted them to realise what they could have together if they were willing to risk it all. SECRET LESSONS WITH THE RAKE by Julia Justiss is my favourite book from this series and is a must-read for all historical romance and regency romance fans alike. A fabulous end to an addictive series!! Author Bio: Julia Justiss grew up breathing the scent of sea air near the colonial town of Annapolis, Maryland, a fact responsible for two of her life-long passions: sailors and history! By age twelve she was a junior tour guide for Historic Annapolis, conducting visitors on walking tours through the city that was a hotbed of revolutionary fervor. (Annapolis hosted its own tea party, dispensing with the cargo aboard the "Peggy Stewart," and was briefly capital of the United States.) She also took tourists through Annapolis's other big attraction, the United States Naval Academy. After so many years of observing future naval officers at P-rade and chapel, it seemed almost inevitable that she eventually married one. But long before embarking on romantic adventures of her own, she read about them, transporting herself to such favorite venues as ancient Egypt, World War II submarine patrols, the Old South and, of course, Regency England. Soon she was keeping notebooks for jotting down story ideas. From plotting adventures for her first favorite heroine Nancy Drew she went on to write poetry in high school and college, then worked as a business journalist doing speeches, sales promotion material and newsletter articles. After her marriage to a naval lieutenant took her overseas, she wrote the newsletter for the American Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia and traveled extensively throughout Europe. Before leaving Tunis, she fulfilled her first goal: completing a Regency novel. Children intervened, and not until her husband left the Navy to return to his Texas homeland did she sit down to pen a second novel. The reply to her fan mail letter to a Regency author led her to Romance Writers of America. From the very first meeting, she knew she'd found a home among fellow writers--doubtless the largest group of people outside a mental institution who talk back to the voices in their heads. Her second goal was achieved the day before her birthday in May, 1998 when Margaret Marbury of Harlequin Historicals offered to buy that second book, the Golden-Heart-Award winning novel that became THE WEDDING GAMBLE. Since then, she has gone on to write fourteen novels, three novellas and an on-line serial, along the way winning or finalling for historical awards from The Golden Quill, the National Reader’s Choice, Romantic Times, and All About Romance’s Favorite Book of the Year. Julia now inhabits an English Georgian-style house she and her husband built in the East Texas countryside where, if she closes her eyes and ignores the summer thermometer, she can almost imagine she inhabits the landscape of "Pride and Prejudice." In between travelling to visit her three children (a naval officer son stationed in Washington, DC, a textiles and design major daughter who cheers for University of Texas at Austin, and a mechanical engineering major son also at UT Austin) keeping up with her science teacher husband and juggling a part-time day job as a high school French teacher, she pursues her first and dearest love--crafting stories. To relax, she enjoys watching movies, reading (historical fiction, mystery, suspense) and puttering about in the garden trying to kill off more weeds than flowers. For more information: Website - www.juliajustiss.com Twitter - twitter.com/juliajustiss Facebook - www.facebook.com/JuliaJustissAuthor/
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